EV5997 has docked with EV1985, a ship from Orange County. For several weeks, the
other ship will be exchanging resources with the boys’ vessel. In conjunction
with this, Conner had procured a pass to take both Devon and Zane over to the
other ship for a couple of days.

There, they assist him with his work cataloguing the other ship’s medical
resource inventory. Conner discovers something disturbing – mass quantities of a
pharmaceutical called Aderalan are listed to be moved over to EV5997, and he
doesn’t understand why. He and Devon instantly recall the same sort of issue
with Zupertol on their ship. Are the two connected? And if so – how?

Putting this out of their minds temporarily, Conner, Zane and Devon wake early –
thanks to a screaming infant – and prepare to enjoy a free day on the other
ship. Conner has a surprise planned for Devon, and as a part of this he and Zane
take Devon down to the main lobby of the other vessel. Upon entering a space
that is at least ten times as large as the lobby on the other ship, Devon’s jaw
drop when he sees what the trio has stumbled upon.

Space Ship Boys

Chapter 20 – The Happiest Place in Space

My brain may be about to short circuit. Can a healthy seventeen year-old have an
aneurism from excitement?

Having spent a really boring day cataloguing medical supplies on an overly
crowded ship that I was beginning to dislike, I have to admit that I’d wondered
if Conner’s surprise – something I learned about a week earlier, and something
that had to do with my fast-approaching birthday – had been worth coming over
here.

Entering the main lobby of the Orange County ship, my doubts about this started
to erode. The space was massive, much, much larger than the lobby on our ship.
Overhead, the ceiling was set to mimic a sunny day on Earth, a brilliant canvas
of blue illuminating the lobby in what looked and felt like real sunshine.

“Wow,” I say, looking overhead. “This is amazing.”

When I look to Conner and Zane they’re smiling at me. “What?” I ask. I’d assumed
this was the surprise, but there’s something in their expressions that makes me
doubt this. “What?” I ask a second time, this time a little more defensively.

The two boys laugh, and Zane shakes his head, as though I’m missing something
that should be completely obvious. In my defense, they are standing in front of
me, obstructing my view of what we’re walking toward. They move to either side
of me, and that’s when I almost have my aneurism.

“Wait...what?” I ask in total confusion. About a hundred meters in front of me
sits a long gazebo-like structure providing shade to five turnstiles. Behind it,
I can make out a flower-covered berm, and behind that the roof and clock tower
of one of the most famous train stations in the history of the world.

What I’m staring at is both immensely familiar and totally out of place on a
spaceship. “Is that?” I ask Conner, at a loss for words. He just smiles and
shrugs.

When we get closer to the turnstiles I notice a sign sitting above the
antique-looking roof. A blue castle sits atop a puffy blue cartoon cloud that is
emblazoned with glittering golden letters that read: The Anaheim Preservation
Society Presents... And then under that: DISNEYLAND, but in a larger, different
font.

It’s hard to describe how I respond to what I’m seeing. To the casual observer I
probably look a little dense, but that’s only because I’m having trouble
processing what’s happening.

Conner leads us up to the turnstile, where he waves his wrist over a control
panel sitting next to a happy-looking woman in Victorian-era dress. She smiles
at him and says, “Looks like you have a one-day pass for three on your ticket.
Are these your other two?”

“Yes they are,” Conner replies.

We’re ushered through the gate and find ourselves in one of the best known
courtyards in the world. A large planter displays the smiling face of Mickey
Mouse in flowers; behind that lies a hedge separating the flowerbed from what I
know to be The Main Street Train Station at Disneyland, U.S.A., providing
service around Walt Disney’s magic kingdom.

“I...uh...they recreated the entrance to Disneyland on the ship?” I ask, still a
little confused about what’s going on.

Conner laughs at my expression. “Wait a minute,” he says, “you didn’t know? You
really didn’t know? For weeks all anyone’s talked about is the docking, and you
never heard that Disneyland was over here?”

I shake my head. “I...had no idea. The whole park?”

Conner grabs me in a bear hug. “You’re so adorable when you’re clueless. Happy
birthday, Devon – well, part one of your birthday.”

I giggle – my birthday is still five days away, but I have to appreciate the
early super surprise present Conner has planned.

As though in a trance, I wander over to one of the two arched tunnels leading
under the train tracks, somehow dubious that all of Disneyland is really here on
the ship. I’m greeted with a view down Main Street, U.S.A., a giant ornamented
Christmas tree sitting in the center of the plaza situated between City Hall and
The Opera House. At the end of Main Street, I can see the spires of the castle
rising above the trees.

“This is amazing,” I say in wonderment. “How is this even possible?”

Zane steps up beside me and gives me a firm shoulder squeeze. “I think it’s a
good time to leave you guys to it. Have fun today, Dev.” And then he wanders off
into the crowds, making his way down Main Street. I think about asking him to
stay, but then remember that Conner really wanted to have me to himself today.

“Disney financed almost all of the costs of this ship,” Conner explains next to
me. “There was a condition – Disneyland had to be preserved. You never heard
about that? When I was a kid there was a plaque about it in City Hall, maybe
there still is.”

I guess I’d never thought about Disneyland at the end of the Earth before. “They
saved the whole thing?” I ask again, feeling a little stupid for failing to
grasp the concept.

Conner laughs. “Yeah, the whole damn thing. Well, most of the other park because
it was historic too, but not the water parks or the virtual park from Long
Beach.”

I walk over to the cornerstone of City Hall, touching it lightly with my
fingertips, as though expecting it all to be a holographic illusion. “How do you
get a theme park on a space ship?” I ask.

Conner shrugs. “I don’t know, but there’s a movie about it over in the cinema.”

“So…like…it’s like a museum or something?” I’m still not quite grasping what’s
going on.

My boyfriend smiles and shakes his head, clearly finding my cluelessness both
amusing and endearing. “It’s not a museum, Devon,” he says. “It’s a fully
functioning park. They reassembled it here, and then decided to reopen it. All
the rides are running, and all the stores are open. That’s the surprise, Devy –
I’m taking you to Disneyland today.”

“Ib gidgo Disneyland?” I say, my words slushy owing to a surge of excitement
that is building in my chest.

“Yeah, you get to go to Disneyland,” Conner laughs.

“I get to go to Disneyland? I get to go to Disneyland?” I plow into Conner,
wrapping my arms against him and pressing him up against the wall of City Hall.
“We get to go to Disneyland!” My words grow louder and louder, echoing through
the small courtyard to our left, where a vendor is selling pretzels. She looks
up from her stand, smiling at my childish display.

“No way!” I object, my eyes going wide and my veins surging with adrenaline.
“The whole park is in there? Oh my god, we have to do everything. Everything!
All the rides…and we have to see Toontown. Oh, and Pirates. Then we should
totally, totally, totally ride The Jungle Cruise. Haha, world famouse Schweitzer
Falls, named for the famous Doctor Albert Falls…that one kills me every time.
Oh, then Churros and more rides and….”

“Okay, okay,” Conner cuts me off. “We can do all that – we will do all that –
but we’ll never get through your list if we stand here babbling all day. We
should get started…today is your day, but I was kinda hoping we could start with
Space Mountain. It’s a tradition.”

What ensues is two boys dashing madly down Main Street, heading for what we both
proclaim to be the greatest theme park ride of all time. After being whipped
around thoroughly on Space Mountain – twice, ’cause I always need seconds – we
visit some of the other Tomorrowland attractions.

“We’re such dorks,” I say to Conner while we wait in line for the Tron:
Revolutions spinning rocket ship ride.

Conner laughs. “How so?”

I move forward to fill a gap in the line. “Well,” I say introspectively, “we’ve
been living on a spaceship for eight months, and the first thing we do when we
go to Disneyland is ride little spaceships.”

Conner laughs, appreciating the irony as much as I do.

Our day at Disneyland is a whirlwind of color and excitement. We ride the
submarines; I insist on going three times so that we can see all of the
variations – classic, Nemo and Adventure: Atlantis. And then I tug Conner by the
arm toward it’s a small world.

“Devon – no way. No, no, no,” he laughs when I get in queue for the ride.

“What? It’s a classic,” I say.

Conner stands in line with me, but doesn’t seem convinced that we need to ride
this particular ride. “it’s a small world? Really? We’re gonna have the stupid
song stuck in our heads for days.”

I shrug. “I know, that’s part of the fun. Oh my god, let’s get churros after!”

Conner relents and ride the infamous children’s attraction with me, and then we
do get churros. We make our way to Toon Town, which looks a
little...uh...Parisian. The classic buildings are all in place the way I
remember, but the Christmas decorations and costumes look undeniably European.

Conner and I wind our way through Mickey’s house, meeting the mouse himself at
the end. “Mickey!” I exclaim, giving the costumed park worker a tremendous hug.
Conner just shakes his head. I know it’s not really Mickey, but I can have my
fantasy, can’t I?

We exit the attraction, and I’m immediately startled to see two familiar faces
heading our way – one black haired green eye kid and other with blonde hair and
blue eyes. One might be tempted to suggest that these two were the physical
incarnations of good and evil, looking like opposites as they did, but I knew
the truth – they were both just evil.

“This can’t be good,” I say, nudging Conner and then pointing the approaching
scrubs out to him.

“Hey Devon!” Jason Castello chimes once the two boys are within earshot.

“Uh…hi,” I reply uncertainly. “What the hell are you two doing here?”

Jason Castello and Adam Mitchell were two of the middle school-aged kids that
lived on our ship. As far as I knew, neither of them were doctors, crop
specialists, or any of the other positions that would have gotten them a pass to
be on EV1985.

“Charlie sent us over,” Adam said. His blue eyes were wide, as though he were
mesmerized by the vibrant colors around us. “Here, he sent a note.”

Adam hands me a note, along with a small bottle. The boy almost drops it,
looking over my shoulder at Mickey’s house rather than me. I take the items from
him, first examining the bottle. It’s full of small white pills. “What the
hell?” I ask.

I open the note; on it I find a message for me in Charlie’s scrawling
handwriting, which I read aloud. “I know you’ll kill me for this later, but you
have to admit that you owe me one or two favors,” the note starts. Great – this
isn’t going to be good. “Jason and Adam have been really good, and they both got
straight A’s this term. I thought they deserved a reward. I sent them over to
the other ship, telling them that you’d forgotten some medication and that it
needed to be delivered to you. It should get them into the park, and I was
hoping you’d let them stay the rest of the day.”

I stop reading and look up to see wide smiles on both of the boys. Ugh – the
rest of the day? No way. “You two can stop smiling,” I say. “I’m sending you
right back to the other ship. Charlie may not mind babysitting detail, but I
do.”

Seconds later, my wristcom rings, the screen stating that it’s Charlie calling.
You can phone between ships? I hadn’t known that. “What?” I answer, trying to
sound cold.

Charlie’s voice comes over the line; he sounds apologetic and a bit pleading. “I
know, I know,” he says. “You were bound to be annoyed by that, but I thought if
I told you in advance you’d refuse to watch them.”

“You were right, and I’m still going to,” I ascertain. “We’re marching them
straight to the exit and sending them home.”

Charlie pauses for a moment, and I look at my com to make sure he hadn’t hung
up. Then he replies, “Okay, if that’s what you want to do, but I need to tell
you something – make sure they can’t hear this.”

“Oh come on, Charlie.” I’m a bit exasperated, but I gesture to Conner and the
boys to stay where they are while I walk a few feet away, just in case anyone
can overhear what Charlie is saying into my earpiece. “Okay, go ahead,” I say
once I figure I’m a safe distance.

“The thing is,” Charlie says, sounding as thought he’s phrasing his words
carefully, “Adam and Jason – How do I say this? – Adam and Jason are having a
bit of a tough time with their feelings for each other.”

“Yeah, I know,” I reply. Jason and I had recently had a “heart to heart” about
how he liked Adam, and how he wanted to ask him out.

Charlie continues, “You remember how it was for you – living on the ship and
wanting to find someone, and how lonely it was before you and I got together,
right? Think about what that would be like if you were thirteen and just hitting
puberty. I know it was low to mess up your birthday surprise like this, but I’m
worried about them. I thought if they had a really special first date….”

“Okay, sheesh, you win,” I exclaim, cutting him off. Appealing to my
big-brotherly gay boy instincts was a good tactic on Charlie’s part – it worked.
“I’ll tell you what – they can stay for a while.”

“Oh…wow…cool, Devon. I really owe you one.”

I think about my deal with Zane, and about how it wouldn’t be fair to play
favorites amongst my friends. “No,” I say slyly, “you’ll owe me three – three
shit details for pulling hijinks during my birthday surprise.”

“Three!”

I confirm this and Charlie and I strike a deal before hanging up. When the boys
hear the news, they explode with adolescent hormonal hyperactivity, and I can’t
say I blame them.

“But there are going to be some ground rules,” I say. Then I notice a brightly
colored shop across the street. “Hey, check it out – the Toontown candy shop!” I
exclaim, my attention shifting completely to the candy store, a place I remember
fondly from my childhood. I lead Conner and the boys in that direction.

“But you just had a snack,” Conner says, referring to the churro I’d just barely
finished. Little does he know that the order of any day at Disneyland is sugar,
sugar and more sugar. There isn’t a line for the candy counter, so we walk right
up. One of the attendants turns to greet us, and we recognize one another almost
immediately.

“Oh, er...hi,” I reply, taken aback at running into my new French friend this
way. “Wow, what a surprise! You work here?”

She nods. “But yes...many of us Frenches we work here in zee park. It is not our
only job, but it is a good side job, I think.”

“No doubt,” I agree. “I always wanted to work at Disneyland when I was a kid.”

“It is very pleasant work,” she assures me. And then she turns to Conner. “But
how rude! Unless I am mistaken, zis is your boyfriend, Conner?”

Conner smiles and extends a hand. “Yeah, I’m Conner. You must be Devon’s new
friend. He told me about the tour yesterday.”

Léna shrugs off Conner’s handshake with a dismissive wave. “But we do not greet
friends zis way in France.” She leans over the counter and offers Conner a peck
on both cheeks, causing him to turn red. “Oh, but your cheeks are adorable when
zey flush!” she exclaims, making my boyfriend blush even more fiercely. Then she
turns to me. “You too, Devon.”

I have no problem allowing the pretty girl to kiss me in greeting. A warm,
pleasant feeling courses through my body when she does. “And what do we have
here?” she asks, looking over the two scrubs, who are eyeing the beautiful
French girl with a blend of curiosity and wonder. “Zey are like mini-Devon and
mini-Conner! How cute!” she exclaims.

“Oh, don’t say that,” I moan, knowing that she’s somewhat right.

“I’m Jason, and this is Adam. We live on Devon’s ship. We’re on a date!” Jason
proclaims. Adam blushes and looks down at the floor bashfully, where his
fidgeting feet apparently hold some newfound interest for the boy.

Léna leans into the group conspiratorially, resting her elbow on the counter and
placing her perfect chin upon her palm thoughtfully. In a lower voice she says,
“Oh…but zis is a very big deal – zee Disneyland date. Is Adam your boyfriend?”

“C'est merveilleux!” Léna exclaims, making the four of us jump. Then she laughs
and tells us to wait while she procures a special treat in celebration of the
boys’ first date.

Léna returns with a tray of chocolate eggs. “Zis is my very favorite,” she says.
“Perhaps you will like them too. Dark chocolate eggs surrounding a filling of
peanut butter cream.” She offers the tray to the boys, and they each take one of
the candies. Then she offers it to me. “Would you like to try one, Devon?”

“I totally would!” I announce, giggling like a little kid. “Wow, this is better
than a doober!” I say, taking a huge bite of the candy.

When Léna asks what a Doober is, Conner insists he be the one to explain, seeing
as how my mouth is stuffed full of chocolate. He describes the pastry that had
taken our ship by storm.

“Ah, how decadent,” Léna sighs. “Zis sounds a little sweet for me, but I can see
how zis treat is popular.”

The scrubs wander over to the other side of the shop, where an old-fashioned
taffy machine is kneading a large blue glob of candy.

“You are very sweet to take zee younger boys on a date,” Léna says, lowering her
voice so that the scrubs can’t hear us talking about them.

“Yeah…I guess,” I say uncertainly. When Léna shoots me a questioning look, I
explain about how Charlie tricked me into babysitting the boys. Léna smiles and
tells me that Charlie sounds very wily. I think back to how he tricked Sean,
Dog, Mike and Zane into the whole wank club thing the first time – yeah, I guess
he is wily.

“But I think that I may have zee perfect solution,” Léna says. “My roommates and
I – we all work here today, no? Zee boys, zey are so cute. Perhaps I could
convince you to let my friends and I watch them? I suggest that we let them go
off on their own, and then they – how do you say? – check in wiz me every once
in a while.”

“I don’t know,” I say uncertainly. “We’re supposed to make sure they get back to
the other ship okay, and they can be a handful.”

Léna laughs. “Yes, I am aware of zee antics of boys. I will be leaving here at
midnight, perhaps you and Conner would like to enjoy your day and allow me to
take zee younger boys back?

Léna’s offer is tempting. “Hey guys?” I call to the scrubs, motioning them back
to the counter. They come, grabbing two more chocolate eggs apiece from Léna’s
tray. I explain to them that we have an important offer to make them – they get
to wander Disneyland on their own, conditioned upon them staying within the
park, checking in with Léna every two hours, and letting her take them back to
the space tunnel at the end of the day. I inform them that failure to meet all
of those conditions will result in instant death.

The boys go super-hyper, agreeing to be perfect little angels. They assure Léna
that they’ll return around one to check in with her. Then we watch as two young
teenagers scream “Space Mountain, Space Mountain!” before disappearing into the
park. Oh god – what have I done?

As we watch out the window, the scrubs rounding the corner toward the path
leading out of Toontown, a rather perturbed looking boy enters the shop and
approaches the counter, pushing Conner and me aside to address Léna.

I watch the yelling boy curiously. I have no idea what he’s saying, but he sure
seems upset about something. Aside from that, he’s rather cute, a crown of
floppy black hair lying in a tousled mess over wide-set eyes. He’s tall and
somewhat thin, and appears to be about my age.

“Sebastien!” Léna says in an angry voice. “C'est vaiment pas le moment!" And
then she babbles to the boy in French. It’s a beautiful language, even when
spoken in anger.

The boy’s angry gaze softens as he takes what I assume to be a thorough
scolding.

Sebastien takes a thorough scolding from Léna, and then he looks at us
sheepishly before shooting Léna a slightly defiant glare. “Sebastien....” she
says, sounding authoritative.

The boy turns to face us, looking rather perturbed and embarrassed. And then his
mood suddenly shifts – he smiles, looking a bit like a chipmunk and revealing
that he’s completely adorable. This may be in part because his ears are quite
large, sticking out from his long face in a way that makes him seem even cuter.
“Pardon!” he says, his accent very thick. This word I know.

Léna says something to the boy in French and then turns to us. “Sebastien
apologizes,” she says. “He eez my brother.” She then speaks to Sebastien some
more in French. I make out my name and Conner’s, so I assume she’s telling him
who we are. He apologizes again and then wanders off.

“I am sorry about zat,” Léna says. “Living on zis ship has been hard for him,
and he sometimes forgets his manners. I told him zat we would talk after work.”

“I always forget my manners too,” I reply, making a joke. I don’t think it
translates well, Léna just returns a blank look. And then she explains that
Sebastien is five years younger than her, having just turned eighteen the month
before, and that he’d been visiting her in California when the evacuation
occurred.

“We all loved France,” she says in a slightly sad voice, “but zee evacuation has
been harder on Sebastien than most. He does not speak English, and since leaving
zee Earth he refuses to learn. He has few friends, and now he eez obsessed about
zis painting...but I am sorry – you do not need to hear about our family drama.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I say, trying to sound compassionate while
simultaneously munching on some more candy.

We visit with Léna a bit longer before she insists we leave to enjoy our day,
which we do. We catch the train to New Orleans Square, where I make Conner get
me a mint julep. After downing even more sugar, we ride The Haunted Mansion, and
then Splash Mountain despite Conner’s reservations about getting wet. I tell him
you don’t get that wet.

“You. Are. Such. A liar!” he scolds when we exit the ride, both of us drenched.
We’d rounded a corner, causing the wave our boat made to slide up the flume and
then back down into our boat. Conner had taken a lapful of water. I giggle,
looking at the huge wet spot on the front of his pants.

We dry off on Pirate’s Island. I challenge Conner to a round of holographic ship
warfare on Battle for the Black Pearl. I let him play the pirates, who always
have an easier time winning, but when we step out of the holographic simulator
I’ve soundly sunk his vessel. “Too bad, so sad,” I joke, waggling my ass in
victory.

And then we ride Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones and The Jungle
Cruise and eat a Dole Whip and visit the Enchanted Tiki Room and eat another
Dole whip and ride Big Thunder Mountain before riding Space Mountain two more
times before I suggest getting an ice cream cone on Main Street.

“You’re going to explode!” Conner laughs when I suggest another treat.

“Nuh-uh,” I reply, sticking my tongue out at him.

Ice cream has, of course, been a mainstay at Disneyland since opening, a
sweltering July day in 1955. Ever since, ice cream, that quintessential American
dessert, has been offered at the scoop shop on Main Street. It can never be
known how many happy souls have wandered through this line over the years, but
certainly it has been millions and millions.

What many do not know is that there is more than one ice cream shop on Main
Street. There’s the main shop attached to the bakery, which is deluged with
customers all day long. And then there’s a smaller shop off an alley that’s
almost always empty. This is where I take Conner.

The shop is empty, as it almost always had been when I visited before. A cute
guy greets us at the counter, his white smile the perfect accent for his big
brown eyes. I ask for a scoop of mint chocolate chip covered in hot fudge and a
scoop of cookies and cream covered in strawberry sauce, both piled into a waffle
cone that’s been dipped in dark chocolate and rolled in multi-colored sprinkles,
all of this then topped with whipped cream and three cherries.

“A man who knows what he wants,” the attendant laughs as he takes my order. “I
like it.”

He punches our order into the system – Conner asks for a small water, claiming
sugar overload. A second worker in the back of the shop begins scooping my ice
cream. While he does, I have little choice but to stare at the guy behind the
counter. I mean...I know I have a boyfriend and everything, but...gah. He looks
a little older than Conner or me, but not much. He has a great smile and
friendly-looking face, but perhaps what I most notice are his eyes –
almond-shaped and deep brown with a slight downward slant, accented by a pair of
bushy brown eyebrows that make him look all at once kind, intelligent and sexy.

“So, do you come here often?” I ask, and then immediately realize what a stupid
question that is. “I mean, have you worked here often...er, long?”

The guy laughs and says he started at Disneyland as a secondary shift shortly
after takeoff. A slightly awkward silence descends, but then the guy barks over
his shoulder, “Oy! Cory! Where the heck is that order?”

The guy’s coworker approaches the counter carrying my ridiculous ice cream.
“Sorry,” he says, “I was trying to get it just how you put it in.” He hands me
my dessert, which I take rather clumsily owing to the fact that my jaw has
dropped. Co-worker guy is an identical copy of order-taker guy.

“Are you guys related?” I ask, again feeling slightly lame.

The two boys look at one another, as if noticing that they’re identical for the
first time. Then they look back to Conner and me, smiling. “No,” one of them
says, “actually we’re not.”

“Actually, we’re not even real,” the other says.

The first immediately adds, “Yeah...we’re holograms.”

“Imaginary holograms that only exist in your imagination,” continues the second
one.

“In fact, this whole shop isn’t real, and we were never here....” The first
says, trailing off and making a mysterious “whooing” sound as the two ice cream
boys dip behind the counter and out of view, as if they’re actually
disappearing.

“Ha, ha, very funny – very droll,” I say, unable to resist laughing at the cute
boys. When they don’t reappear Conner and I look at one another curiously and
then over the edge of the counter – there’s no one back there. Hey! How’d they
do that?

We shrug and take a seat at the one small table in the parlor. After I’ve dug
into my ice cream and enjoyed a few bites of pure heaven, the first boy – er, at
least I think it’s the first one – reappears, winking at me when he does.

Suddenly, the door to the shop swings violently open, startling the four of us
in the shop. “You smarmy, smarmy bastards!” a familiar voice booms. Conner and I
look up to see an angry-looking Zane, red in the face and puffing as though he’s
just run a 10-K.

“Us? What did we....”

I’m about to say “do?” when Zane lets out a violent howl of delight and dashes
for the ice cream counter. He clears it with a sound leap, landing in between
the two ice cream boys.

Conner lets out a snort of laughter at the sudden appearance of Zane. “What
the?” he says as our friend performs his acrobatics.

Ice cream guy steps back in defense, although he’s laughing so neither Conner
nor I get too concerned. This changes slightly when Zane assaults him, grabbing
him in a deft wrestling maneuver and picking the other boy up off the ground
amidst a squeal of protest.

“Do you think he knows them?” I ask Conner.

Zane puts the guy down and then pulls him in close, taking the boy’s lips to his
and engaging him in a passionate kiss. “They’ve probably met,” Conner replies.
“Although with Zane it can be hard to tell.”

The second twin comes up behind Zane and his brother and grabs our friend around
his waist. “Zane!” he exclaims joyously, spinning Zane around and taking our
friend in a kiss equaled only by the one we’d just witnessed.

Few words are spoken, mostly the three guys fight for kissing dominance; Zane
runs a hand up one of the boy’s shirts, revealing a strip of tan flesh and toned
muscle along his waistline. I take a bite of my cone and munch on the sweet,
crispy waffle, vaguely wondering if these three are going to do it right here in
the ice cream shop. Based on what I’m seeing, they might.

Zane presses one of the boys down onto the counter face-first, rubbing the guy’s
back vigorously and deeply as he does, coming up behind him so that, if the two
boys had less clothes, Conner and I might find ourselves getting to the good
part of a rated X movie. Zane looks up and seems to notice us for the first
time.

Zane gives the bent-over twin a firm slap on the ass and then releases him. All
three boys are breathing a little hard. “Oh,” Zane says. “Sorry to be rude,
then. Devon and Conner, these are my very best friends Danny and Cory Novak.
Danny and Cory, this is Devon Chasen and Conner McLaglen.”

Zane explains his raucous entrance. Having informed the twins that he’d be
visiting, they’d told him that they would be working in the park all day. It
seems they didn’t tell him where, exactly. Instead, upon discovering that he’d
been able to procure a ticket, they’d sent our friend on a “wild goose chase,”
providing false clues as to where they were, making Zane run to one end of the
park and then the other trying to chase them down. Zane tells us that it was
only because he asked around that he was able to put an end to the “treasure
hunt.”

“And just to answer the question on everyone’s mind,” Zane says at the end of
his story, “yes, everyone in this room is as good in bed as they look like
they’d be.” It’s at exactly this moment that the door swings open to reveal a
very fat little man in a dirty white tank-top. Tufts of long, stringy hair stick
out of the shirt all along the sleeves, suggesting an overly hairy chest and
back. “You know what,” Zane says, “I’m going to stand by that last statement.
Yes...I think I’ll let it stand.”

The twins giggle at this. Perhaps sensing that he’s been made fun of, the
newcomer looks over the menu before abruptly turning and leaving the parlor.

“That wasn’t very Disneyland of you,” one of the twins says.

The other agrees, adding, “Yeah, not very Disneyland at all.”

Zane slips a hand down one of the boy’s slacks, causing the molested youth to
squeal. “Most everything I’m about to do to the two of you isn’t very
Disneyland,” he says.

“I think we should go to lunch,” one of the twins suggests.

“Yes, a very long lunch,” the other agrees. They take Zane by the hand, leading
him toward the rear exit.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” I call back to them, slightly disappointed. “You didn’t
even tell us how you know these guys.”

Zane slides back into view, and when he speaks his words are comically hurried.
It only takes him about fifteen seconds to say, “Danny and Cory went to high
school with me and we were something of a couple...well, a trio...and yes, I
mean sexually, and yes, they are just about the best fuck in the world. As luck
would have it, I haven’t gotten off in almost forty-eight hours because the
stupid room was so packed last night, and I haven’t gotten off with Cory and
Danny since I saw them over a year ago; yes to the comment Conner is thinking
about making – I am going to walk out of here and find a place to fuck them; and
no to the question Devon is thinking – I won’t video it for you, but I might
invite you to watch later when I do it again. So, sorry to be rude, but I gotta
run, why don’t we all meet for dinner around seven at the Blue Bayou? Bye!”

And then he’s gone; I half expect to see a cartoon cloud of smoke in a Zane
shape sitting where he was just standing. Conner and I stare at one another and
then Conner breaks out laughing.

“What?” I ask, wondering what has his so giddy.

“Nothing,” he replies. “You’re friends are just awesome. I give him a hard time,
but Zane is hilarious.”

“Yeah he is,” I agree, and then I protest Conner trying to steal a bite of my
ice cream. When I’m reminded he owns the ass I like to spend so much time
inside, I change political positions and gladly share, going so far as to insist
he take the whole thing. He just laughs at me and dabs a glob of whipped cream
onto my nose.

When we finish our “snack” I insist that we immediately go back to riding rides.
Conner asks whether this might make me puke, so in defiance of the insinuation I
make him ride the teacups with me.

“Okay, now I’m gonna puke,” he says as we get off; I’d failed to mention that I
like to spin them at top speed the entire ride.

We then ride Peter Pan. As is my custom, I lean forward in the ride car so as to
have the best view down into the ride. “Wow!” I gasp when we come around the
corner and upon the Neverland scene. I look over to see Conner smiling at me.
“What?” I ask defensively.

“Nothing,” he replies. “You’re just adorable when you act like a little kid.
Stay like that forever.”

“Kay,” I say, snuggling up against my boyfriend for the rest of our journey
through Peter’s adventures.

As the day turns to evening I become a bit frantic to see and do everything. We
ride Indiana Jones and then head back to Tomorrowland for another whirl on both
Space Mountain Classic and Space Mountain 3000. I score over a million on Space
Mountain 3000, waving my blaster in victory as our ride car screeches to a halt.

“Do you think Zane was serious about dinner?” Conner asks, looking at his watch.
It’s nearly seven. I check my own com to find a recent text from Léna. She
confirms that the scrubs showed up for their check in, and that she’s sent them
off to the Tomorrowland Pizza Port for dinner.

I tell Conner that I don’t have any messages from Zane, and have no idea if he’s
expecting us for dinner, but we decide to wander over toward New Orleans Square
in case he is. We’re both slightly surprised when we find Zane and the twins
standing outside The Blue Bayou – Zane had been serious and he had shown up on
time, wow. The trio look...tired. Not like “hard day at work” tired, more “ten
rounds of boy sex later” tired.

“Hey, Conner and Devon!” Zane exclaims in a booming voice when he spots us. He’s
clearly giddy – yeah, he’s gotten lucky more than once since we last saw him.

Cory and Danny greet us as though we’re old friends, and then tell us that
they’ve procured a table for us near the water. We check in, Danny flirting
shamelessly with the Host, and then are seated shortly thereafter.

The Blue Bayou is one of my all-time favorite restaurants. The dining room is
made to look like the terrace of a Louisiana plantation, one existing in an
endless nightfall with an ever-rising full moon low on the horizon and fireflies
dancing lazily by the water’s edge. Our table is located overlooking the
“river,” in actuality the flume carrying the Pirates of the Caribbean ride cars
down into the attraction.

After a moment my eyes adjust to the candlelight, and I find myself almost
completely relaxed. If there is any constancy in life, I find mine at
Disneyland. The way the Blue Bayou smells or the porch swing sitting on a patio
on Main Street or the way the fire-dancing hula boys in It’s a Small World are
both cute and hot – these are all things that have remained the same since my
first visit when I was an infant. It makes me feel nostalgic, and safe somehow.

“Quarter for your thoughts,” Danny says, smiling in my direction.

I snap back to reality. “I was just thinking about Disneyland,” I answer. “About
what it was like when I was a kid...it’s great they saved it.”

“Yeah it is,” Cory agrees. “We were there, you know – when the evacuation
started. Danny and I were on break from school. We were headed back to Seattle,
but decided to stop by Disneyland on the way. Well...it wasn’t really on the
way, but we decided to go anyway.”

“It’s a good thing, too,” Danny says. “I hear it rains all the time on the
Seattle ship.”

Zane flicks a sugar packet at the twin for his lame joke, and the two engage in
a brief but fierce bout of footsies under the table while Cory continues.
“Anyway...we were in the park when it happened. It was amazing – there was this
whole plan to disassemble the park in the event of evacuation. There were over
fifty thousand ‘reservists’ in the Anaheim area assigned to help with the
project.”

“We were in the back of the park when the sirens went off,” Danny continues,
done playing with Zane for the moment. “By the time we made it to the front, the
facades were already coming down off the Main Street buildings and there was a
group carrying the white hearse from The Haunted Mansion down the street. It
was...weird. Both silly and moving – we ended up helping out. It only took about
twenty hours to disassemble the entire park...amazing.”

“That is amazing,” Conner marvels. “You have to wonder what made someone come up
with that idea.”

“I don’t,” I assert. Everyone looks at me. “Disneyland was...is...important. It
always has been, and it always will be. It was a good idea to bring it along. I
don’t know, I guess it just feels special to have rescued it. Wherever we go,
it’ll be there, reminding us of the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that
created America, and the modern world.” I feel a little silly, but I tear up,
thinking about this one piece of my childhood – of humanity’s childhood – that
was saved.

Cory shoots me an understanding look. “Cute – and sensitive too,” he says,
reaching out to take my hand in his. “I have a feeling Conner is a pretty lucky
guy.”

Our dinner is superb. The pork chops are small and mixed with ration meat – I’m
told food is a little scarce on the ship – but they’re covered in the cinnamon
apples and paired with the cheesy potatoes au gratin I remember from my
childhood, so I stuff my face. Conner drinks about ten glasses of water and then
excuses himself to go to the restroom.

“So,” Danny says, “Zane told us how you two got together...very sexy.”

“Zane,” I whine, “I asked you not to tell anyone about us doing it on the rear
observation deck...it’s embarrassing.” Sometimes I really regret confiding
things like that in my rambunctious friend.

Cory and Danny’s eyes go wide; Zane was about to take a drink from his glass,
but laughs and then chokes. While he coughs and sputters, Danny and Cory both
scoot in closer and prop their chins in their palms, as though getting ready to
hear a particularly good story.

“He didn’t say anything about the rear observation deck,” one of them says.

The other completed his brother’s sentence. “...but now we have to know all
about it.”

“Later,” I laugh, spying Conner making his way back from the bathroom. The boys
insist on hearing the story now, but I shake my head. Just before Conner comes
within earshot, I tell them that if they say anything around Conner I’ll never
tell.

“Did I miss something?” Conner says, sitting. The twins are eyeing him with
goofy grins.

“Where’s the dessert menu?” I ask, looking around the table, changing the
subject.

As it turns out, I don’t need one. A moment later, a trio of waiters approaches
our table singing Happy Birthday; the lead waiter is carrying a small cake with
a solitary lit candle on top. I instantly turn red.

“I’m gonna kill you guys,” I moan, not really upset.

“Don’t look at me,” Zane protests. I glance over at a very guilty looking
Conner, and suddenly I understand the real reason behind his long bathroom trip.
“Dork,” I mutter. He’s forgiven when I discover the cake to be lemon with
strawberries and whipped cream, one of my favorite birthday cakes.

“I know it’s early,” Conner says after I blow out the candle. “We’ll have
another cake on your birthday, but I wanted you to get one tonight too. Happy
early eighteenth birthday, Devon.”

“Happy birthday!” the other three boys exclaim in unison, raising their glasses
to me. I smile affectionately at them.

After dinner, Zane and the twins take off to go...never mind, I don’t even need
to say. Before they leave, they request that we meet them back at the ice cream
parlor at closing. We agree and then walk out of the restaurant together.

The air in the park is cooler, and the artificial night of the Blue Bayou is
replaced by the “real” night created by the image of a full moon and stars on
the lobby ceiling. Around the park, a million lights have been activated,
presenting Disneyland at its most magical. Conner and I decide to walk around
the river, letting our food digest. I stop and hang over a railing when the Mark
Twain, a replica 19th century steamship, paddles by. Jazz music fills the air
and I smell something gentle and floral on the air.

“This is really special, Conner,” I say. For some reason it takes me a moment to
muster the courage to voice this, I’m not sure why.

“Thanks,” Conner says, leaning on the rail next to me.

I stand and turn to him, taking his cheeks in my palms. “No,” I say, shaking my
head. “You don’t get it. I mean...this is really special, Conner. I’ll never
forget it, my whole life. I feel...” And then my words fail me. I try again. “I
feel...I feel...I feel like this,” I finally say, pulling my boyfriend closer to
me and taking his lips into mine. They’re sweet, the faint taste of frosting
still upon them. And they’re warm, and familiar, and wonderful. I let the kiss
linger on as long as possible, hoping to remain here kissing this boy forever
and ever. I feel Conner melt at my touch, and when he sighs I do the same in
return.

We’re startled by applause when we part lips. I jump, and then see that a small
crowd has gathered to watch us kissing. Conner turns a deep crimson and I giggle
sillily as a twenty-something girl offers me a thumbs-up. “Thanks, we’re here
all night,” I joke; Conner turns even redder.

Nighttime at Disneyland is magical, and Conner and I take it in. The Main Street
Holographic Parade draws a crowd around nine, and then at ten a bevy of
holographic fireworks “explodes” in the night sky, presenting sparkly images of
knights fighting dragons and some of the more familiar Disney characters.

I ask Conner if we can ride Space Mountain again, and we do. It never gets old!
And then, to Conner’s amazement and wonder, I order and consume a cinnamon roll
and latte at the Main Street Bakery.

All too soon the hour grows late and the crowds begin to thin. I look up at the
castle, which is adorned with white and blue lights for Christmas. I almost feel
like crying, I’m both tremendously happy to be here, but also a little sad. I
resist, though. I don’t want Conner to think I’m upset.

An announcement sounds over the park system. “Disneyland has concluded its
normal operating day,” a friendly voice proclaims. “Main Street U.S.A. will be
open for another hour. Thank you for visiting the happiest place on Earth.”

“I guess someday they’ll change that last part,” I mention.

Conner smiles at me. “I don’t know. In a way, wherever Disneyland is, that might
as well be the Earth. You were right earlier – they were right to save this
place.”

Léna sends me a short message informing me that she and the scrubs have left the
park, and that she’s walking them back to the space tunnel. She promises to make
sure they get back to EV5997 safely. I reply, thanking her profusely for her
help with the boys.

I feel a chill and procure a hot chocolate from a street vendor. We reach the
end of Main Street and find a spot to sit at the dance stand next to the castle.
The live band we’d seen playing here earlier was gone, but swing music continues
to play over the sound system. I sip my drink. “When I was a kid, this was our
meeting spot,” I say. “The place where my parents and I were supposed to go if
we got separated. My mom always made my put a piece of paper in my shoe with
their phone number on it, too. Just in case.”

“I like your mom,” Conner says sleepily. It’s almost one, and I know he’s been
working hard lately. I’m also mindful of talking about family in front of him –
he’s lost his, and I still wasn’t completely comfortable with that.

I look over at the dance floor. “Hey, we need to dance!” I say. To end an almost
perfect day, I want a Disneyland dance with my boy. Conner half-heartedly
protests, but when I pull him up off his chair he follows.

As we step onto the dance floor the traditional Disneyland “last dance” song
begins – I think it’s called Moonlight Serenade...yeah, by Glenn Miller.
Classical music can be as romantic as hell.

Conner takes me into his arms, and I put my head on his shoulder. He’s not the
best dancer in the world, but all that’s required now is that he shuffle me in
small circles and make me feel safe and warm, and he does both very nicely.

“I never want to go home,” I whisper.

Conner laughs. “Really? You want to live in a bedroom with a gazillion other
people?”

“Nah,” I reply. “I was thinking we could live here in the park. Sell churros by
day, sleep out under the stars at night. Maybe adopt one of the Disneyland
horses and train it to do some sort of nighttime firework aquatic show with us –
Charlie can make our outfits.”

Conner laughs out loud at this. “You’re such a kook,” he says, raising my arm
over my head and twirling me before taking me tightly back into his embrace.
“But I have to tell you something.”

I tilt my head and look him in the eyes; the lights of the castle behind us
reflect in his wide pupils as a million little golden specks. He smiles
seductively and I fall in love with him a little more. “I love you, Devon Chasen,
kookiness and all.”

There’s not really a lot I can say to that, so I don’t say anything. I just sigh
and put my head on his shoulder for the rest of the dance.

When the last dance ends we walk up Main Street toward the ice cream parlor. A
sign on the door proclaims it “closed,” but Zane lets us in. “Wow, you two are
glowing,” he says. “What have you been up to?”

“We’re in love,” I reply, taking Conner’s hand into mine.

Zane smiles. “I see that – it’s all over your faces. Hey...I have an idea – come
with me. We’ll be back in one second,” he says to Cory and Danny, who are in the
back cleaning up. They nod in acknowledgement and Zane leads us back out onto
Main Street.

“Here, stand here,” he says. Then he steps back and pulls up an app on his
wristcom. “I’ve never seen anyone look quite as happy and sexy as you two. You
should remember it forever.” Zane raises his wrist to take a photo. I’m usually
camera shy, but tonight I’m just happy. I wrap an arm around Conner and he does
the same to me. We smile wide, and Zane snaps a picture. Then he gets one of us
kissing, and we have a departing visitor take one of the three of us.

A week later a frame with all three photos shows up on the wall of the
unoccupied flat, and one with the picture of Conner and me hugging shows up in a
smaller frame by my bedside. I note then that Zane was right – Conner and I do
look happy and sexy. It’s actually the first photo of us together as a couple,
and I carry the picture around with me for the rest of my life.

We return to the ice cream parlor, where the twins have finished cleaning up.

“So what’d you guys want to do tonight?” I ask. “Get dessert somewhere? I could
go for some dessert.”

“There is just no way,” Conner says, eyeing me dubiously. He takes a seat,
trying to list all the sugary treats I’ve had today.

“What? It’s Disneyland,” I reply, as though part of the magic of the place is
the bestowed ability to consume a thousand desserts in one day. One of the twins
laughs and walks back into the kitchen.

The other turns to us and says, “Actually, if you don’t have to go back over to
the other ship until tomorrow, we kinda thought you might spend the night.”

“I don’t know,” Conner replies. “I mean, we can cross back over tomorrow morning
if we need to, but I don’t know if we should kick people out of their beds for
another night – and I don’t know if I can take another night sleeping in a room
with three dozen people.”

Cory returns from the kitchen. He’s carrying a long, black container, which he
slides in front of me before handing me a spoon. The bottom is coated with an
inch or so of all the gooey toppings the shop serves – cooled hot fudge and
caramel and strawberry and toffee cream all mixing together in swirls at the
bottom of the dish. On top sits several scoops of ice cream in varying flavors.

“It’s the overflow from the fountain,” he explains. “Usually we toss it in the
recycler, but I put some ice cream on there for you...go to town.”

I eye the sugary mess he’s offered me before putting on a huge grin. “It’s the
best present ever!” I proclaim before digging in. The boys all laugh at me,
although moments later they’re sharing the concoction.

Cory takes off his apron and hangs it behind the counter. “Well,” he says,
extending the word as long as possible before continuing. “There’s ‘let’ and
there’s ‘let.’ Do they let us do it in the sense that they know about it and
allow it? No. Do they let us in the sense that we have some secret hiding spots
that are a hell of a lot better than our assigned hallway cots? Yeah.”

“Sweet! I’m in! Awesome!” I exclaim, high on sugar and the knowledge we’re about
to do something naughty.

Zane is, of course, also up for it. Conner looks a little uncertain about
breaking the rules, but does nothing to stand in the way of my dream of a
Disneyland sleepover.

“There’re actually several places you can sack out,” Danny says. He lists all
the places they’ve used as sleeping spots and then asks me to take my pick. It’s
tempting to camp out inside Pirates of the Caribbean or The Haunted Mansion, but
then I consider all the skeletons and decor. Neither is exactly romantic. Then I
consider one of the other options and it sounds perfect. I announce my choice.

“Cool,” Danny says. “The cleaning crew will leave right at two. I can take the
two of you over there after that. Before that, we have to hide out at our place.
Follow me.”

It suddenly dawns on me that Conner and I will be alone for our Disneyland
sleepover. Cool. I mean...way cool.

We follow the twins out the rear of the ice cream shop and into the cast member
area. Sleepy looking park workers pass us here and there; the twins say
goodnight to anyone we pass as we walk. The area is a maze of hallways, which
ultimately leads to a set of industrial looking double doors.

“This way, gentlemen,” Danny says, looking around before opening the doors,
presumably to ensure no one is around to see five boys sneaking into the
building. The room inside is dark, and we’re directed where to go in hushed
whispers. Danny...or Cory maybe...guides Conner and me through the space, taking
advantage of the opportunity to grab my ass along the way.

“Sorry, it had to be done,” a voice whispers in my ear.

We come to a metal staircase and follow our new friends up it as quietly as
possible. It feels like we’ve climbed at least ten stories before we’ve reached
our destination. One of the twins opens a small door and motions for us to step
inside.

“You’re shitting me!” I say upon entering. We’ve been brought to a small, dimly
lit room. Several sleeping bags lie piled in a corner, along with the detritus
that reveals the twins really have been living here. This isn’t what gets my
attention, however. What gets my attention is that the ceiling of the room is
translucent, providing a view of the familiar track and projected star-field of
Space Mountain. “You guys live in Space Mountain? You live in Space Mountain?”

Both twins stare at me, curious smiles set upon their sexy lips. “Does he always
react this way to sugar?” one of them asks.

Conner nods. “Yes...and thank you so much for giving him that sixtieth serving
of it.”

The five of us hang out in the “Space Mountain Bedroom Supreme” for a while
before Danny announces that it’s late enough to take Conner and me to my
sleeping spot of choice. He rummages through the pile of bedding in the corner
and produces two extra sleeping bags – causing me to wonder exactly what kind of
overnight guests these two have had in here. Before I can ask, we’re being
whisked down the stairs and back into the park.

“We’ll keep to the back areas,” Danny says. “Just in case anyone is staying
late. But we should be fine – we’ve barely ever seen anyone after hours.”

True to his word, the park is vacated, although most of the lights are still on.
He peeks around the corner when we arrive at Main Street and then, satisfied no
one is around, dashes across toward the Plaza Inn. Here he uses a key card to
access another cast-member area. We walk a series of hallways here, emerging
back into the park on the other side of the Enchanted Tiki Room.

“You sure this is where you want to sleep?” he asks. “Last chance to change your
mind.”

“No way,” I say. “This is totally my childhood dream.”

“Okay,” Danny chuckles. “No one’s around – I’ll let you two go the rest of the
way on your own. Set your alarm for seven, you should come back to our room then
so you don’t get caught.” We tell Danny we can find our way back, and promise to
return at the mentioned hour. Then he heads back for some “sleep” and I lead
Conner the rest of the way.

“The treehouse, huh?” he asks when we reach the base of a long stairway leading
up into a massive fake tree; wooden structures sit in multiple levels amongst
the branches. “Why the treehouse?”

I start up the stairs. “When I was a kid, I always thought it would be cool to
live here,” I answer. “Besides, wait until you see the view.”

We trek up the stairs, ascending one staircase to find another around the
corner. Eventually we begin passing scenes from Disney movies. We come upon a
bedroom scene where an evil looking leopardess is stalking a sleeping infant.
“How about here?” Conner asks. There’s a wide space on the floor between the
crib and a destroyed fake bed where we could theoretically roll out our sleeping
bags, but I shake my head.

“Nope, all the way to the top,” I say, climbing the next stairway. Conner laughs
behind me and calls me a goof.

We eventually arrive at the highest point accessible to pedestrians on the
attraction – here the upward winding stairs end in a short, level walkway
connecting to a stairway that begins the downward hike to ground level. Next to
the walkway sits the destroyed deck of a nineteenth century sailing ship – one
that has been moved up into the gigantic treehouse to act as a lookout platform.
The platform, in reality some sort of plastic made to look like wooden boards,
is about three meters square, ringed by a border made to look like broken,
jagged wood extending thirty centimeters high, so that for the most part the
lookout deck is completely exposed to the “outside.”

I look around the platform and then at Conner curiously. “What? There’s plenty
of room, and the border will keep us from rolling off.” I unroll the sleeping
bag I’d been carrying, forming a pallet in the center of the platform.

Conner steps up onto the deck and looks over the side, where only a few fake
branches and leaves obstruct the view of the ground far below us. “Um, okay,” he
says, sounding a little nervous. He sits down cross-legged on the pallet.

I take his sleeping bag from him and unroll it next to mine before taking a seat
next to him. “It’s perfect. Check out the view.” From where we’re sitting we can
see down into the Jungle Cruise behind us, the five-thousand-pound leaping tiger
visible through the trees. Next to that we can make out the Temple of the
Forbidden Eye rising from its jungle locale. To our left lies the Rivers of
America, and New Orleans Square, each building lined with sparking white lights.
The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain sit on the
horizon. But best of all, off to our right we can see the spires and sparkles of
the most famous castle in the world. Dressed up for the holidays, it almost
looks like it’s been encased in ice.

I point all of this out to my boyfriend.

“I have to admit, you’ve chosen a pretty good spot,” he says.

I don’t say anything in response, but instead peel my shirt off over my head.
When I reach down and grab his, he doesn’t argue, and he doesn’t blush. He
simply raises his arms and allows me to expose his naked chest to the night air.

“I hope you had a good time today,” he says.

Again I remain silent, unbuttoning my pants and shimmying out of them, taking my
shoes and socks off in the process. He watches me intently, as though he’s never
seen my undress before. When I finish with my clothes I push him backward and he
props himself up on his elbows, looking down to watch me remove his shoes one at
a time.

“I mean, I thought for sure you’d figured out where we were going,” Conner
jabbers as I unfasten his belt and unbutton his pants. I tug on them and he
lifts his hips so that I can slide them off his lean frame.

Conner raises and eyebrow, and then says, “Hey, are you sure you didn’t really
know about Disneyland? I didn’t think there was any way I was going to keep that
from you.”

I just smile and shake my head.

“Oh,” he says, thinking about my answer and then smiling. “Well, I guess it was
a good birthday surprise then. Not that this is your only birthday
present...people should get presents on their actual birthday, I just...oh....”
he babbles, stopping when he notices that I’ve laid down on top of him, our warm
bodies lining up just perfectly.

I hug him tightly, enjoying the feel of him, the smell of him, the everything of
him. I love the way the fuzz on his legs tickles the fuzz on mine, and the way
our tummies slide smoothly against each other. I press down a little more,
allowing my full weight to rest on him, our chests coming together. I can feel
his heart beating, slightly elevated now that he knows what’s going on.

Conner’s voice drops in both volume and pitch when he continues speaking. “You
want to have sex now, don’t you?” he asks, looking me in the eyes. I just smile
coyly and nod. “Yeah, okay,” he says, reaching up to run his fingers through my
hair. “Make love to me, Devy – anything you want. Tonight is your night.”

Tonight is my night, huh? I could joke about this, but I just smile and shimmy
out of my underwear. Once I’m naked I press my lips to his forehead, letting his
bangs tickle my lips and cheeks. His hair smells slightly of mint, but mostly of
Conner. It’s a floating, soft aroma that makes me feel fluttery and horny.

I take off my wristcom, the last thing I’m wearing. I open the small slot in the
side where I hide my universal emergency hatch key, a spot where I’d recently
taken to hiding something else. Zane had taught me what he called “an old
sailor’s trick.” Whether seamen ever really stashed tiny packets of
super-concentrated lube in their wristcoms is doubtful to me, but it was a good
idea and I’d followed my friend’s suggestion.

Before I set the wristcom aside I set it to jukebox mode and pull up one of my
favorite playlists. A lilting, sexy tune fills the air. Conner removes his own
underwear and leans back on his elbows, smiling at me sensually; his manhood is
standing at full attention, ready for my touch and my love.

I sit next to him and touch his chest. “You’re beautiful,” he whispers.

I’m in a mood to be quiet and sexy, so I just smile. “Oh,” Conner gasps, biting
his lower lip. I’ve reached down between us to very lightly graze the skin of
his scrotum with my fingertips. This always gets him going.

“I...uh...wow, this day has just been too much. This isn’t a dream, right?” he
asks when I start stroking his shaft lightly. His eyes get a slightly glassy
look that tells me he’s enjoying what I’m doing. I pull him in tight to me,
hugging his body to mine. It may be my imagination, but he feels like his body
temperature has gone up significantly in the past few minutes.

“Oh, oh,” he coos. “I really – ah – I really like that, Devy. But all the sugar;
everything that’s happened today. I want to...I want to stay up all night with
you like this, but...um....”

I tilt my head curiously, waiting for him to elaborate.

“Um,” he continues, “I think I need you inside me...like right now. Will
you...will you fuck me? I mean, we can save that for later if you want. I’m not
being bossy or anything, I just....”

This time he falls silent because I’ve placed my forefinger gently against his
lips. I’m sure he can smell his scent on my hand, perhaps even taste it a
little. I look him in the eyes, still not speaking, and press him down onto his
back. I pull his legs up onto my shoulders, enjoying the way our bodies fit
together like this. I snap the top off my tiny container of lube and smear some
on my cock, which appreciates the attention. Then I run a slick finger across
Conner’s hole, first lubricating the silky skin there and then penetrating him
slightly to get him ready.

Conner sighs, his eyes rolling up in his head. I watch him react to my touch,
enjoying the way his sandy brown bangs fall away from his face when he leans
back. “Yeah,” he whispers. “I really, really need you inside me. I love you,
Devy.”

I do as he asks, sliding slowly into him until he’s taken all of me. Pleasure
courses through my body, and instinct tells me to start thrusting rapidly. I
resist, though, taking a moment to think about my boyfriend’s body, and about
how things line up inside him.

“Ooh, Devon, yeah...I tried a lot of things up there, and nothing quite fit
right until I found you.”

I still don’t speak, but I have to laugh, leaning in for a playful kiss before
proceeding. And then I visualize the place inside him where what feels like a
small knot is located. I try to position my tip right in that area; eventually
I’ll become masterful at having sex with Conner, knowing just how to penetrate
him in order to give him the most pleasure. I’m not there yet, but recently I’ve
begun maintaining enough control to focus on his pleasure along with mine, and
I’ve begun learning about the benefits of poking him just right with my dick.

“Okay, I think you’re hitting...urgh!” Conner says, making a funny little
chirping sound when I thrust into him. My penis isn’t quite tactile enough to
tell me when I’m hitting his prostate, but his chipmunk noises makes it so that
it doesn’t have to be.

“Devon...oh...wait...Devon...yeah,” he moans as I fuck him. I slide in and out,
giving his ass a gentle jab at the end of each stroke. It feels great for me,
but I’m really trying to do this in a way that drives him wild, and I think I’m
succeeding.

Our bodies grow warmer and we both begin to sweat. I shift positions, and then
when he asks to go back to the first we do. He touches my body, grabbing and
caressing everywhere he can reach. And then I go back to fucking him silly.

“Ah...ah...ah,” he moans and grunts; the sounds he makes drive me wild.

There are few perfect moments in life. Tonight, making love high above
Disneyland, the jungle damp lying lightly on our exposed skin like a cool linen
blanket, gentle music wafting sensually across the platform – this is a perfect
moment, one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

I feel the building pleasure of an orgasm appear on the horizon in my mind. I
look into Conner’s eyes, slightly panicked that I’m going to cum too soon. He
sees my fear and quells it. “Do it,” he says, reaching up to brush my
sweat-soaked cheek with his palm. “Come inside me.”

Lust overcomes me and my thrusting becomes more frantic, sloppy.

“Cum inside me, cum inside me,” Conner groans, his body twisting and contorting
under me. My mind goes hyperactive and I try to take everything in – the sound
of my body slamming into his, the smell of our sweat, the expression on Conner’s
face as his pleasure builds to an intolerable level. And then his entire body
tenses, overcome with lust and shock. “Oh fuck!” he yells, his voice
reverberating throughout the trees.

Conner performs the longest-distance cumshot I’ve ever seen, his cock erupting
in full glory. His first spurt leaps out of his cock as though propelled by some
form of rocket fuel. It clears his shoulder and flies over the short border of
the platform. I watch as the white sticky streak disappears into the night,
falling down into Disneyland somewhere. Conner continues cumming, hitting his
cheek and then his chest. I feel a hot, sticky glob land on my collarbone and I
grunt approval, fucking my boyfriend with wild abandon.

“Uh...uh...uh!” I groan. Conner’s orgasm has set me off. I feel my dick erupt
deep inside him; each move I make sends shockwaves of pleasure ripping through
my young body. I moan, a low, guttural sound, my first shot oozing deep inside
my boyfriend. And then I can’t take it – I’m not sure if I’ll survive if I
penetrate him for the entire orgasm. I pull out frantically, grabbing my
spasming cock and nearly falling over. I stoke my slick cock, my subsequent
shots spraying down onto my boyfriend’s chest and stomach. His dick is still
spraying, ejecting his final, smaller shots.

“I uh, I uh,” Conner gasps once his orgasm subsides. We’re both panting,
completely out of breath. I laugh at him, which causes him to put on a silly
face as he tries to concentrate enough to both speak and breathe. “I uh, hope
you don’t think we’re through,” he says. “We may never get to go to Disneyland
again, and we’ll almost assuredly never have the opportunity to spend the night
here again. We should make the most of it. I think my ass and I are
ready...we’ve been conditioning for a marathon. What do you say, round two?”

I take a moment to look Conner over. He’s soaked with sweat – and semen – his
chest flushed red and dotted with several long white streaks of splattered
semen. He shakes his head vigorously; it’s a habit he’s formed to keep the hair
from his eyes, one I find particularly sexy. His cock is hard and wet, throbbing
slightly, almost in time with the music.

I look to my own stiff member. There’s no way it’s done for the night.

I flash Conner an evil grin. And then I pounce him playfully, his yelps of
protest reverberating through the jungle. We make love over and over again
through the night; ultimately I begin dry-cumming, but he never does, always
spraying at least a small glob of semen at the end. We laugh at how he’s stored
up so much, and grow a little sore from using our penises over and over again
like this, and then we cum again.

I never say a word, but that doesn’t matter in the least. “Oh…oh…Devon! Five
times…can’t believe…here I…here I…URGH!” Conner grunts, really straining to push
himself to the point of no return. His cock erupts – yeah, it’s still erupting
on the fifth one…wow – squirting another load onto his tummy, albeit this load
is smaller than any of the previous. I consider going for a quick and frantic
sixth, but my dick feels swollen and sore already.

Aww…what the fuck? You only live once.

I pound away frantically, Conner watching as he tried to catch his breath. I
gasp and moan, my legs feeling wobbly and tired. My abs are starting to hurt
from the exertion, but I insist on finishing what I’ve started. I get myself to
the edge of orgasm by getting up on my knees and whacking off as fast and hard
as I can. I’m gonna feel it later, but I don’t care. When I cum I lose my
balance, falling forward to collapse on Conner’s soft body. I groan and twitch
through my final orgasm, Conner encouraging me on with sexy whispers and light
stokes to my back.

“Okay, I’m done,” I proclaim, panting heavily.

“Lightweight,” Conner laughs, but then agrees that he too is sated…for now.

Ultimately the “sun” rises and the deadline arrives. Conner pulls his tee over
his head, his lower half still nude. He collapses back onto his sleeping bag,
which was used for just about everything but sleeping. “Whew,” he puffs, “I’m
beat. Wow...that was great, but no more sex – for like a month.”

I shoot him a hurt expression, complete with puppy-dog eyes. He laughs. “Okay,
okay! Just kidding...sheesh. Just give me a couple of hours to recuperate.”

“Okay,” I concede, pulling my underwear up over a cock that is a little swollen
and sore, but quite satisfied. “But only a couple.”

We finish dressing, gather our things, and hightail it back to the twins’ hidden
bedroom. We have to make a mad dash across Main Street to keep from being
noticed by some arriving park workers, but we make it unnoticed.

We arrive at the door to the twins’ bedroom and Conner asks whether we should
barge in, considering what Zane and the boys probably have been doing all night.
I shrug, telling him that they told us to come back here. He agrees, shrugging
nonchalantly, and we enter.

“Hiya,” Zane says from across the room, a rather satisfied smirk spread across
his lips. He’s sitting up against the far wall with a twin to either side of
him. All three boys are naked save a single sheet lazily strewn across their
waists so as to hide the naughty bits.

I grin at my friend. “Hi.”

Zane winces. “Whew! You two smell like sex,” he says. The twins both smile,
looking a little sleepy and dreamy.

Conner blushes. “We do not,” he protests. Then he sticks his nose down into the
collar of his shirt to check. “Oh. Yuck, we do,” he admits, turning a little
deeper red.

“S’ok,” Zane says, standing, his pendulous cock exposed. It looks about as
swollen as mine feels. “They have a shower in here,” he says.

“Why is there a shower in Space Mountain?” I ask.

One of the twins yawns before speaking in a slow, sleepy tone. “This was an
employee break area...once upon a time,” he says. “We got into the computer
system when they were reconstructing Disneyland here, and we erased this room
from the plans so that no one knows about it. We thought it would be cool to
have our own private clubroom, then eventually we turned it into a bedroom.
Downstairs there’s a shower and a locker room. Fortunately the shower works, but
sadly it’s tied into the ship systems, so the stupid seven minute thing
applies.”

Zane looks very self-satisfied when he says, “Unless you see how many boys you
can pile in at one time...then you get thirty-five.”

The four of us look at Zane and then one another, all of us slightly uncertain
about what he’s suggesting. And then we’re not, five smiling boys running
downstairs, three naked and two rapidly losing their clothes. We enter the
locker room, make no apologies about checking everyone else out – the twins are
completely identical, by the way – and then we each wave our coms over the
shower controls, adding our shower ration time to one another’s until we have
thirty-five glorious minutes to wash – and to get to know each other a little
better.

Showering with Conner, Zane and the twins is...well, sexy, as one might expect.
I get boned, despite being totally sexually worn out, and if I hadn’t filled
Conner with my spunk all night long I’d probably be an insane ball of hormones.
As it is, I stick to some mild flirting and exploratory touching.

“Ooh, I love your hair,” one of the twins says to me, squirting shampoo onto my
head from a bottle he’s retrieved from a shelf in the shower. “It’s so soft.”

“Thanks,” I reply, blushing at the compliment. I guess I never really thought of
my hair as soft.

“Wow, that’s a long one!” the other twin says to Conner, looking down between
the two boys. “Can I see?” he asks, unabashed.

Conner looks uncertain and then smiles shyly, saying, “Yeah, sure.” A moment
later he squeaks, and then exclaims, “Hey! See with your eyes, not your
fingers!” The crowded shower, filled to the brim with wet, soapy bodies, erupts
in laughter.

All too soon shower time is over. We emerge, clean and happy, although all a
little tired. Even our five dicks look tired, I think, checking each one out.
Conner and I aren’t the only ones with slightly swollen cocks.

By the time we’re all dressed, heading for the park exit, I feel like I’ve known
Cory and Danny Novak my entire life.

We’re sad to leave the twins, and Disneyland, but Conner says we really do have
to get back. We say our goodbyes, promising to try to visit again before the
docking is complete. Then three tired boys make the trek back to the docking
bay. I can’t speak for the other two, but I need a nap.

“What the hell?” I ask when we arrive at the docking bay floor. The halls are
completely packed with people and trunks. In fact, it’s so packed that when we
get about eight bays down from our destination, we discover we can’t proceed any
farther – the hall is just too jammed. This is odd – this was the one area of
the ship where we hadn’t encountered droves of people when we came aboard.

Conner looks at his com, as though expecting it to provide a solution. When it
doesn’t, he says, “Well, I guess I’ll try to squeeze through and see what’s up.”
He leaves his bag with us and asks that we stay put.

“You have fun?” Zane asks when he’s gone.

I turn to my sexy friend and smile. “Totally,” I reply. “This was the best trip
ever. You?”

“Oh yeah.” The glint in Zane’s eye offers insight into what he did last night,
and exactly how much fun he found that.

We wait for a couple of minutes, and when Conner doesn’t come back I tap a
nearby girl on the shoulder. When she turns around, looking at me politely, I
ask, “Do you have any idea what’s going on? I mean – with the crowd today?”

She just stares at me blankly, and I realize she doesn’t speak English. “Oh,
sorry,” I say, trying to remember how to say that in French. Hmm...Conner taught
me about apologizing after an accident with a wedge of brie in bed...dang it, I
forgot.

“Okay,” Conner’s voice sounds from behind. He’s squeezed back through the crowd
to fetch us. “They’re moving some people over today,” he explains. “But we’re
supposed to go to the front of the line.”

This proves easier said than done. We slowly make our way down the corridor,
squeezing through the crowd. Too bad I used up my entire lube stash – it may
have come in helpful this morning. We’re eventually able to get to the docking
bay, where I run into a familiar face. “Léna!” I say upon noticing my French
friend. “Hey, are you stalking me?” I ask in a joking tone.

It takes her a moment to understand that I’m kidding, and when she does she
laughs. “It seems that way, yes,” she says. “But no...I am – how do you say –
coordinating. But it eez wonderful, have you not heard?”

When I shake my head she continues. “Our move to zee ozzer ship, eet has been
approved! We will be going to live wiz you and your friends.”

Now I’m the one pausing to understand what I’m hearing. When it dawns on me what
she’s saying, I say, “You mean...forever? Like permanently?”

Léna nods. “Yes! After some – how do you say – negotiations, they agreed that
our group should move over. There are ozzers that wanted to go, but it was
agreed that my group would – how do you say – fit in.”

I smile at the news. Looking around, the crowds suddenly make sense. What we’d
stumbled onto was a French emigration. Léna explains that they would be trying
to move five hundred people over each day until their entire group had
relocated. This involves a process of getting the girls to the bay, checking
their belongings, then sending them over the bridge in small groups. On the
other side they have to be checked in, provided temporary quarters, then
eventually moved into more permanent housing, not to mention eventually assigned
jobs. At the head of the line, ten girls enter the first of the two airlock
chambers. A small group of officers begins processing paperwork on the next ten
in line.

Since we ran into her, I take the opportunity to thank Léna for her help with
the scrubs the day before. She says that they were little angels, which I find
highly dubious.

Then I want to ask her more about the migration, but Conner taps me on the
shoulder, telling me that the crew members manning the checkpoint want us to go
over in the next group. “Oh shoot,” I say, turning back to Léna. “I have to go.
But I want to hear how it all goes! Will you be over on my ship later today?”

Léna shakes her head. “No! I am afraid to say that I will not. I must stay to
coordinate the rest of zee move. But zey are waving to you, Devon!” she says,
pointing behind me. I turn to see that, indeed, Conner and an officer are
motioning me to approach the airlock. Léna continues, “But when I am moved over,
after all zee ozzers, I will be sure to let you know.”

I nod, saying we need to meet for coffee when she’s relocated, and then I’m
ushered into the airlock. The hatch closes in front of us, obscuring the scene
of a bay full of confused French girls. I laugh. “Wow, looks like Paris is
coming to stay.”

“Ooh-la-la,” Zane jokes.

The walk back isn’t as bad as the walk over had been. For one thing, there are a
lot of people on the bridge today. We walk a little faster than the emigrants,
passing several small groups as we go. Conner and I chat about how the migration
came to being. I tell him that it seems really sudden, but he shakes his head
and tells me it was all part of the docking.

“There are a ton of requests to move over to our ship,” he explains. “Or so I
assume, based on the medical records we’re getting. Somehow I’m guessing the
Léna and her friends got approved first because they fit so well with the
demographics on our ship. And I’d have to agree – I think diversifying our
little society will help dampen tempers, and give some bored boys things to do
other than start fires.”

We discuss this, and then make some lewd jokes about this, and then laugh. I get
nervous walking back over the spacebridge, but I cope better this time.

* * * * *

The news about several thousand French girls coming to live on our ship doesn’t
take long to spread. In fact, I think the entire ship knows by the time we make
it back to the unoccupied flat, three exhausted guys who’ve just had one hell of
a whirlwind vacation.

Conner and I retreat to my bedroom for a short nap, both of us messaging work
and stating that we won’t be coming in today because we were “delayed” coming
back from EV1985. This isn’t a problem for either of us – Conner has worked
about sixty hours of overtime this week, and I can easily trade my shift for
another day. We slip into bed, both of us thinking about sleep more than sex…for
once.

When we wake up, it seems like life on our vessel has changed forever.

“Oh my god, did you hear?” Mike exclaims when Conner and I stumble bleary-eyed
into the living room. When he tells us that he’s referring to the French girls
we nod and tell him what we’d learned on the other ship. He seems hyper, taking
in our every word as though it’s the coolest news in the history of the universe
and asking a million questions.

“I need coffee,” I mumble, not really sure if it’s an appropriate time of day
for coffee. Then I look at Mike curiously. “I have to ask, though...why are you
so excited to have a bunch of girls move over here. I mean, you and
Charlie...it’s not like them being here will be...uh...what am I trying to say?”

Mike replies with a sarcastic smirk. “I think you’re trying to ask why I’m
excited to have thousands of girls here when I’m clearly of a persuasion that
enjoys taking it up the ass.”

“Erm...exactly,” I reply awkwardly.

Mike sighs. “Always about the sex with you – that reminds me, I need to go wank
– anyway, I think it will be exciting having the French girls here. We can learn
to speak their language – and Charlie can learn to make clothes for them! This
is going to be really cool, don’t you think?”

I nod, agreeing. Conner does too, although he seems quiet and reflective about
something.

Mike considers something. “Hey, we all thought you guys were due back yesterday.
Last night was weird without you or Zane. What happened? Did you get backed up
or something?”

By spending the night in Disneyland we’d missed our usual Friday night wank-a-thon.
“We were…delayed,” I tell Mike. “But in no way am I backed up.”

My young friend looks at me curiously, and Conner just rolls his eyes.

* * * * *

When I was a kid, returning from a trip to Disneyland always required a period
of adjusting back to reality. I find this to still be the case. I pick up an
afternoon shift on Sunday, but my cooking is really, really subpar all day, and
my mind frequently wanders. At times I daydream about sex up in the trees at
Disneyland, which is about the time I ruin the soup, and then others I think
about Danny and Cory, which is about the time I burn some cornbread.

Eventually, I start thinking about serious things. The news about the Aderalan
and Zupertol was surprising, but not shocking. Now I needed to consider what to
do about it, which sets me to thinking about Sneak, Patrick and Reid, who
suddenly seemed to make up a defacto spy ring, me included.

I’d never been a big fan of the subterfuge going on all over the ship. I
disliked the tension created by Steven and his monkeys, and to be honest I
wasn’t a fan of Eden’s security force either. And I especially didn’t like
uncertainty, the constant tension that another riot or fire was about to break
out. I understood why my friends would respond to this by doing what they could
to stop it, but I was tired of the spying and sneaking.

“Fuck it,” I say, realizing I’d just dumped two tablespoons of tarragon into the
curry I’m making – it was supposed to be turmeric.

And then something dawns on me – why am I pushing thoughts of Disneyland aside
to focus on all the tension crap? Why am I even involved in it? It’s not what I
want my life to be like, it’s annoying, and feels a little like the stupidest
elementary school game ever invented. I just want to cook and laugh and make
love to Conner every night. And although several billion kilometers will soon
separate Disneyland and me, I want it to be in my dreams, not Zupertol.

I have an epiphany – I’m ready to put all the sneaking and spying behind me for
good. My friends might feel they need it, but I don’t.

That afternoon, I arrange a meeting with Patrick and Reid, where I explain this
to them. I reveal what Conner and I had discovered, and tell them we have no
idea what it means. I also go over everything I know about Sneak, and tell Reid
that I will ask Sneak if he’d like to arrange a way to communicate with him.
Once this is done, I ask that they don’t pester me with anymore conspiracy crap
– but I try to phrase it as politely as possible.

“Are you guys mad at me? For saying that?” I ask once I’m finished, hoping I
haven’t alienated two of my closest friends.

Patrick and Reid look to one another before Patrick responds. “Actually, just
the opposite, I think,” he says. “We’ve both felt...bad...about dragging you
into this. I think you’re right – you have a new boyfriend, you should be off
enjoying that.”

Reid adds, “And hopefully this is all moot. Every day things seem to be getting
better. I think with the girls providing a...distraction, we can all look
forward to less tension on board.”

We all agree. “Hey – any big plans for your birthday?” Patrick asks.

I grin involuntarily – it was December 12th, three days before my birthday. I
wonder if I’ll ever get so mature so that my birthday doesn’t make me feel
giddy. Nah, probably not. “Well, there’s the party, of course,” I reply.

“What party?” Reid asks, trying a little too hard to sound like he’s never heard
of such a thing.

“You guys are such dorks,” I laugh. “It’s not a surprise anymore…I’ve been
helping Charlie with it. You guys coming?”

Reid slaps me on the back affectionately. “I wouldn’t miss it!” he says.

“Me either,” Patrick says. “And I think this is a good time for Reid and me to
“make up” publicly. I think Reid’s right – we should keep an eye out for
anything weird, but things are changing. I’m thinking about moving back upstairs
someday soon. But let’s not talk about this anymore tonight – in answer to your
question, Devon, yes, I’ll be at your not-a-surprise party.”

“Awesome!” I reply, happy about this. When I leave the boys in our secret
library meeting spot, I feel lighter.

Later that afternoon, I tell Conner about my decision and what Reid, Patrick and
I had discussed.

“Good for you,” he says, looking relieved that the spying and sneaking is over.
“Not because I don’t want you involved in all that, but because you thought
about what you wanted and decided you didn’t want to be involved, and then you
made it happen.”

I sigh. “Yeah. And the thing is – Reid and Patrick were totally cool about it.
That’s good, but it has me worried. I feel like I need to tell Sneak I’m out.
And I also feel like I’m willing to be his friend, but only if I know who he is.
If he wants to stay anonymous from everyone else, that’s okay, but he has to
come out to me.”

Conner looks thoughtful, and then says, “If that’s how you feel, then you should
definitely tell him. If he wants to be a real friend to you, he should trust
you. But he’s an odd guy, don’t be surprised if he doesn’t want to reveal his
secret.”

I agree with Conner and then sit down to write a message for Sneak, which I’ll
later leave in our hiding spot. Part of me hopes it will be received well, and
that Sneak will tell me who he is, but part of me expects him to disappear back
into the shadows, this time perhaps for good.

“Hey,” Conner says, sitting across the room from me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I grunt, reading over what I’ve written.

“Do you think you can get all the guys down here tonight? I want to talk to them
about something.”

I look around the empty living room, and then say, “I can try, but fitting five
thousand guys in a room this small might be a stretch....”

I don’t finish, a deftly tossed pillow lands soundly against the side of my
face. “Dork,” Conner says, trying to sound annoyed even though he’s smiling. “I
meant your club friends...obviously.”

I consider asking him what he wants to talk to the guys about, but decide to
focus on finishing my message for Sneak. Before I do, however, I agree to send
the boys a text asking them to come over to the flat after dinner for an
important meeting. I make sure to emphasize that I don’t mean “sexy” important,
just plain important. My wristcom dings steadily for the next five minutes, each
of my friends acknowledging that they’ll make time to stop by.

I leave the chip for Sneak before grabbing some dinner, and then later that
evening the wank club assembles in the unoccupied flat – Conner and me, Charlie,
Mike, Sean, Dog, a mopey Zane, who seems to have moved from euphoria to
depression over seeing his friends then having to part with them. Nick and AJ
arrive last, laughing and looking a little stoned.

“You’re supposed to sell it, not smoke it,” Charlie chides.

“Sorry,” Nick giggles. “We were in this storage shed showing AJ’s stuff to some
friends – they wanted a sample. We didn’t smoke any, I swear, but it was a
really small storage shed.” The two boys find this immeasurably funny and erupt
into a round of boisterous laughter.

Once everyone is settled, I look around the room, feeling a certain sense of
warmth toward my friends. Then I feel a certain sense of horniness – eight of
us, and then Conner makes nine, now comprise our little clique. When Charlie and
I had shared lusty whispers beneath the covers about forming a wank club, we
never dreamed it would evolve into this.

We all take seats on the horseshoe couch in the living room. Conner steps up in
front of us, and all eyes in the room focus curiously on him. It actually makes
me nervous – was it about the pharmaceuticals? The easing tensions on our ship,
or the revelations about the French migration? Or was he secretly angry at all
of us, wanting to air his grievances in public?

“Thanks for coming,” Conner says to the group. A knot tightens in my stomach.

As usual, I respond to nervousness with silliness.

“I did it!” I exclaim, leaping to my feet and thrusting a finger to the sky. “I
killed the dowager duchess. We were lovers, but she cut it off. And after I’d
given her my most precious heirloom – the Black Cat Diamond!”

The group stares at me with blank expressions. “You are such a weirdo,” Dog
laughs.

I get a “Devon, please” stare from Conner so I sit back down. Across the couch
Charlie flashes me a thumbs up, smiling at my antics.

Once everyone (meaning me) is composed, Conner continues. “Anyway,” he says,
glancing in my direction with a sarcastic smirk, “I wanted everyone here at once
because what I’m about to bring up affects you all, and there is some urgency
with the timing. Devon, I apologize – this is really something I should have
discussed with you first, but I felt like we needed to act quickly...if we
decide to act at all.”

I shrug, as if to say, “I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m sure
it’s okay you didn’t talk to me first.” Conner now has the rapt attention of the
entire group – we all feel a sense of something important coming.

Conner takes a deep breath. “I think we should move in together – officially,”
he says, then pauses, as though not really sure how to continue.

Conner nods. “Yeah, there’s this medical officer rule...wait...I thought about
how to bring this all up and that’s out of order, let me start over.”

He takes a deep breath. “Okay,” he continues. “Since I’ve known you guys, I’ve
noticed how important this place is to all of you.” We look around the room.
What had once been a completely empty apartment now looked rather lived-in, our
personal belongings having made their way here bit by bit. When I think about
it, this did feel like more of a home than my other flat now.

“You all know about the Parisian group coming to live on this ship,” he
continues. “Well, you may have wondered where they’re going to live – clearly
the first place they’ll fill are the unoccupied areas.”

A certain cloud descends on the group as we consider what Conner’s saying.
Putting the newcomers in the unoccupied areas was a certainty – and we were
currently sitting in a flat that was technically unoccupied. Léna and her
friends moving meant that we were probably going to lose this place.

“Do you think they’ll put them here?” Charlie asks quietly. He looks concerned
and a little sickly, and I’m pretty sure I know why. For Charlie this wasn’t
becoming like a home, it was his home – he’d lived here exclusively for months.

Conner nods. “Probably – the unoccupied floors in the forward dorms are mostly
grouped together, and would make the most sense. But before this thought gets
depressing for you, I think I have a way we can keep this place – if you all
think it’s a good idea to live together. I can tell you about it, if you’d like
to hear it.” Everyone leans in a little closer, indicating that they do.

Conner slowly explains what he’s been thinking about, starting by explaining the
housing rules currently in place. “The regulations state that you need four
people per bedroom to occupy a flat. If we had the right number of guys, we
could ask to be moved into a flat in any occupied area of the ship. This flat
isn’t in an occupied area – but it’s about to be. Whether they move the girls
here or relocate someone else, this floor will be opened soon. We can request
it, if we have the right number of guys to do so.”

“This flat has five bedrooms,” Mike points out. “So if it were officially
occupied there would need to be twenty guys assigned to it.” We all nod,
agreeing with his math.

“Yes and no,” Conner says. “That’s what I’ve been working on today. Okay, so
first of all, I’m a doctor, right?”

Dog snorts. “Let’s hope so, otherwise I’m gonna have to question that finger up
my ass.” We all look at him curiously. “What?” he asks defensively. “It’s okay
when Devon does it but I can’t?” AJ giggles next to him.

Conner ignores the joke. “This is important,” he says, taking back control of
the room. “As a doctor, I fall into a classification of personnel who can
request their own private quarters.”

We all look at him blankly. “What do you mean?” Nick asks.

“There are a limited number of physicians on this ship, right?” We all nod.
“It’s considered an essential position, so I’m entitled to ask for my own
private bedroom. The idea is that you don’t want doctors who are groggy and
sleep-deprived making medical decisions, so there are concessions, especially
when a ship is short physicians.”

“Wow,” Mike says. “So you could have your own room with Devon?”

Conner nods. “Yeah, but that’s not what I wanted to discuss. I’m thinking we can
use the physician-housing rule to try to keep this place – for all of us. If I
take the first bedroom on the official roster, we only need to figure out how to
fill the other four rooms. If we can, then I can probably get this flat for us
permanently and officially.”

“No doubt,” Mike agrees. He’s the other full-time unoccupied flat resident, and
I know he’ll want to stay as well.

“That’s for you guys to decide,” Conner says. “If the nine of us want to live
here, then I can continue explaining my idea on how to make it happen.”

A short discussion ensues. Charlie, Mike, Sean, Dog, Conner and I immediately
decide that we would like to live here; Zane remains silent and thoughtful,
while Nick and AJ weigh the consequences of moving out of their current rooms.
AJ says he’s never really bonded with his roommates and would be willing to
consider moving, although he’d like to think about it. Nick is less certain.

“I have some pretty good friends up there,” he says, referring to our official
flat in Area 23. “Let’s put me down as a maybe and go from there.”

This is good enough for the group, and good enough for Conner. We all look to
Zane. “Well you know me,” he says thoughtfully, and then he smiles. “A flat full
of hot and horny guys? I’m in.”

We start talking about the number of total flatmates we’d need to get this
place, but Conner stops us. “Before you get ahead of me,” he says, “I have a
solution for the second bedroom already – we don’t need people for that one. The
bedrooms are actually utilitarian spaces, meaning they don’t necessarily have to
be used for housing,” Conner explains. “They can also be designated for other
uses.”

“I was thinking about opening a sex shop,” Zane mutters. We all laugh at this.

Conner gets a little annoyed at our childishness. “You guys...seriously – do you
want to hear this, or do you want a bunch of French girls moving in here
tomorrow?”

The group simmers down and Conner continues. “The reason I bring this up is
because Charlie and Mike are both engaged in what is classified as an essential
service on the ship – they’re the only providers of clothing other than the
automated machines. As such, they’re entitled to a work space.”

“Our store is big enough for that,” Charlie says. “We use the back room as an
office.”

“And other things!” Mike exclaims conspiratorially,

Conner ignores Mike and replies to Charlie. “Yes, which is why this is an ideal
solution. If we assign bedroom two as Charlie’s office, it’s no longer listed as
potential quarters. Of course, in reality he’d continue using his store and we’d
put someone in that room, but it will reduce the number of overall people we
need on the official list.”

“So now two bedrooms are taken care of,” Sean says.

Conner nods, but then tells us that he’s out of magic tricks. Bedroom one can be
assigned to him and bedroom two to Charlie, but the other three will need to
have four residents apiece. If we can manage that, he can use his position to
request this flat.

“Conner will be listed in one of the rooms, and we need twelve guys for the
other three. There are eight of us now,” Dog points out.

Conner shifts his weight from one foot to the other. “Yeah. So that’s what we
have to talk about. If we bring four more people in here, we can keep the flat.
How we find other flatmates – and how the rooms are eventually divided – is
totally up to you guys.”

A vigorous conversation ensues concerning how we find the required residents,
and then how the individual rooms might be divided.

Eventually Nick brings up a good point. “Well, we’re going to need some
open-minded guys, right?” he asks. Everyone else pauses and he continues. “I
mean, we’re a sort of sex club – by which I mean that we’re totally a sex club.
We can’t really hide that from anyone living here, we’d have to tell them.”

Everyone agrees, but that makes brainstorming a little harder. We need guys
we’re comfortable with, and who would be comfortable with us. “I think I have an
idea,” I say eventually. “I think we could get Reid and Patrick to fill two
slots. They both know about the group, and they’re cool guys.”

We discuss this possibility. “But aren’t your roomies on the outs?” Sean asks. I
shake my head, but then think about what he’s asking and nod. Reid and Patrick
were pretending to be at odds so that Patrick could get in with Steven’s group.

“Things are getting better, though,” Zane says. “I bet Dev can convince them to
move their official quarters here. From what I hear, Patrick is still listed in
23, right?” He shoots me a knowing glance. Zane is a clever guy, and I get the
sense he either knew or just figured out what my friends are up to.

“That’s true,” I reply. “Patrick may or may not actually live here, but I’m sure
he’ll be open to moving his official residence on the roster. And I think Reid
would live here with us. He’s straight, but he knows about us and is cool with
it.”

Nick’s eyes light up. “Would everyone be okay if Jacob were one of the new
guys?” Jacob was Nick’s best friend and my fifth roommate at the other flat. I
get the sense that Nick will move here if Jacob does, although I have to wonder
how comfortable he’ll be letting Jacob know what he gets up to with us.

But I don’t want to discourage Nick. “That’s actually a great idea,” I say
enthusiastically. “Depending on where we all want to actually room if this
works, moving Reid, Patrick and Jacob together would make sense. We can put them
together in one of the rooms...for them not a lot would change, they’d just move
over here.”

The group agrees with my assessment – moving Nick’s and my roommates down here
solves a big portion of our problem, filling three of the four required spots.
Dog moves away from the topic of new roomies, wondering aloud how the other
rooms should be divided amongst the nine of us.

Conner chimes in. “That brings up something else I wanted to talk about. I do
have one request if I use my position to make this happen. If it’s not okay with
everyone we can talk about other options, but I’d still like to bring it up.”

We all stare in his direction. “The official roster will assign me my own room,
but I want to make it clear I’m not asking for that – and I’m not even asking
for a room with just Devon and me, that would seem unfair,” he says, “It seems
clear that some rooms really will need four guys – I’d like it if Devon and I
room with Charlie and Mike. I’m hoping that’s not weird to anyone. It’s nothing
to do with boy drama or anything...I just like them, and I think the four of us
could handle being in a higher density room.”

Mike leans over and whispers to Charlie and the two put on huge grins. They get
up from their seats and cross the living space to sit on either side of Conner.
“I think I may know why,” Mike says, running a hand up Conner’s shirt.

Zane puts his feet up on the empty spot created by Mike and Charlie’s absence.
“Back to business – how we divide the rooms is moot unless we actually get the
flat. We’re up to twelve if we bring in Reid, Patrick and Jacob, and we need
thirteen. Who else do we know who might want to live here?”

“What about Ian?” Dog asks after we’ve eliminated several other possibilities,
including all of Sean and Dog’s current flatmates, as well as Zane’s. The group
discusses the nurse. We’d all gotten to know Ian better since my
hospitalization. Several of us were regulars at yoga with him, and he was a
pretty cool guy.

“I don’t know,” Conner says. “For one thing, I’m a little weirded at the idea of
inviting a coworker to live here – considering,” he laughs. He makes a fair
point.

“I actually have an idea,” Charlie says. “Say Devon and Conner live with us, and
then we put Nick, Reid, Patrick and Jacob in a room together – that’s eight,
right? I’m thinking we put Zane, Sean, Dog and AJ in a room. Would that work for
everyone here?”

The last four boys listed discuss it, and say it would work, although we’re not
sure where Charlie is going with this. AJ says it sounds like a good match, and
then asks, “But that doesn’t solve our problem, does it? Did you have a
suggestion for the last guy? And why pack everyone into three rooms like that?”

“I do have a suggestion,” Charlie answers. “Beck Harris.”

We all think about this suggestion. Beck was one of Charlie’s roommates. He was
a nice guy, and we all knew him.

“Why Beck?” Sean asks.

Charlie elaborates. “I’m pretty sure Beck knows what we all do together, and I’m
also pretty sure he’s cool with it. He’s a decent guy, and I think he’d say yes
to moving here. Especially if we offered him his own room – a place where he
could play his music twenty-four hours a day.”

I get what Charlie is saying. Beck is a complete and utter music addict – he
breathes, eats and shits music, always looking for the next great song. AJ was
too, to a lesser extent, which was a big part of why the two were friends.

But a downside to Beck’s love of music was that he was always in trouble with
his roommates. The flats were very well insulated – you could blast tunes in one
room and not hear it in another, but that obviously didn’t apply if you were
sitting in the same room. Beck wanted to play his music around the clock,
something that really annoyed his other roomies.

“I think Charlie’s right,” I say. “If everyone is okay letting Beck have a room
by himself, he’ll be totally jazzed to live here.” The other guys weigh in, all
of them okay with the idea.

“But are you suggesting that we give Beck two rooms?” Dog asks. Charlie’s
hypothetical list of thirteen boys has four apiece in the first three rooms and
then Beck in a fourth.

Charlie shakes his head. “No…I was thinking we could keep the club room
unoccupied. I mean, if that makes sense.”

Shy grins are exchanged – what Charlie is suggesting makes sense. If the club
room remained unoccupied, it meant we could have a place to get together. Nick
points out that this might help sway Reid and the others. “If we promise to keep
the boy play to that space, they’d probably feel more comfortable rooming with
us.” Everyone agrees.

“So, it sounds like we have a consensus,” Zane says. “Now we just need to talk
to the others and see if we can make this happen.”

“But we need to move fast,” Conner says. We all agree with his assessment, but
when he says we should approach our potential new roomies tomorrow I dissent.

“I say we talk to them tonight,” I suggest. “I mean...the sooner the better,
right? If we get them on board tonight, we can have Conner and Charlie do their
thing tomorrow. If they don’t want to live here, we need to come up with some
other guys. You guys didn’t see the other ship – there were tons of people
waiting to come over. I have a feeling that they’ll be taking up rooms pretty
quickly.”

Conner nods. “Devon is probably right. The sooner we get everything arranged,
the better. I actually mentioned moving to Eden in passing. If I get him a list,
I think he’ll take care of getting this place for us.” Eden was Conner’s
roommate, and although they weren’t especially close, they were friends.

“Helps to know people in high places,” Zane whispers.

Everyone feels energized and excited, but probably also a little concerned. For
months we’d been coming here, and the thought of losing our flat weighs on us,
but the way Conner has made making it ours officially a possibility has us
buzzing.

Charlie gets goofy, then says he wants to go talk to Beck right away. Nick says
the same of Jacob, and then the others prompt me to message Reid and Patrick
about meeting tonight. The three of us given our “assignments,” the others ask
that we text the group as soon as we find out whether the other boys will
consider moving here. If any of them say no, we’ll need to meet and discuss new
options.

Conner pulls me aside before I leave the flat to rendezvous with Reid and
Patrick. “I hope you don’t mind – about all of this,” he says. “I really should
have spoken to you first.”

I lean over and kiss him deeply. “You want to move in with me, and that just
happens to be overly complicated. You do want to move in with me, right?”

Conner nods bashfully. “Of course,” he replies. “But I also know how important
your friends are to you, and you to them. I could have gotten you and me a room
up in Topside – maybe a place in one of the flats with three bedrooms. But
having your friends scattered all over the ship seemed…off. You guys – we –
should be together. It feels right.”

I hug him a little tighter. “If I didn’t have to go talk with Reid and Patrick
right now, I’d take you in the other room and fuck you.”

I am a nerd, a fact that will come as little surprise to anyone who has read
this far. Wallowing in my nerdiness, I recently decided that Devon and Conner
needed a vacation, and that there would be no better place for a day off than
Disneyland.

Considering the story, this seemed an improbability. But when I thought about
it, why wouldn’t one of the most historically important tracts of real estate be
preserved and reconstructed on one of the ships? It’s no sillier than anything
else in this story. Well, maybe a little.

To further testify to my nerdiness, I also decided to write this chapter
completely from within The Happiest Place on Earth. Over the course of several
visits, I used my trusty iPad to pen this chapter. I wrote a fair bit of it on
the deck of the Pizza restaurant next to Space Mountain, and then another big
section while seated at the dance stand mentioned in the chapter. But I wrote it
all over the park, really, and what I have to say about that is that it’s NOT
EASY to write fiction in the middle of a theme park. It’s noisy, and I was
nearly driven insane trying to write Devon and Zane having sex while the
Charleston played on a continuous loop – very annoying.

At any rate, that was my silly goal when writing this chapter. I don’t think
it’s the first gay scifi erotic soap opera written from within Disneyland, and
it’s probably not the last, but I hope it was the silliest.

For those who have never visited the original Disneyland in California, you may
be curious about a few of the things in that section of this chapter. Here are a
few brief notes about the places you saw in Chapter 19.

- Conner mentions that they saved the “other park,” which we presume is Disney’s
California Adventure. The water parks he mentions are not real, although there’s
one in planning. Neither is the virtual park. In my imagination, Disney bought
the Queen Mary and built a large holographic theme park around it sometime in
the 22nd century.

- Space Mountain in Disneyland IS the greatest theme park ride ever.

- There is no Tron ride, my friend just loves Tron so I made one up.

- The submarines currently feature a Finding Nemo theme. I imagined that in the
future, with holograms, you could have several ride variations, which Devon
mentions.

- Churros - for our foreign readers (and there are a lot of you), a churro is a
type of pastry. The dough is chewy and soft, but firmer than a doughnut. The
dough is cut into a 14 inch stick and then fried and rolled in cinnamon. It’s
high in egg, and if I had to describe the taste, it’s kind of like eating
cinnamon french toast, but in stick form.

- At Disneyland, a mint julep is essentially mint flavored lemonade – there is
no alcohol. They’re good, but sugary.

- A Dole Whip is a frozen dessert made of pineapple juice. It’s been whipped to
have a creamy consistency, something like frozen yogurt, although the taste is
pure pineapple.

- Yes, there is a secondary ice cream stand on Main Street. Not quite as I
describe, but it is less crowded.

- Space Mountain 3000, a ride in which you use a blaster to score points
shooting holographic alien ships while roller-coastering through the darkness of
space, does not exist. But it should.

- The Blue Bayou does exist. It’s the fanciest restaurant inside Disneyland, and
is made to look like the back porch of a plantation house overlooking a swamp.
The potatoes au gratin are famous.

- There is a dance stand next to the castle, where they play swing music,
sometimes with a live band. Moonlight Serenade is often the last song of the
night. This spot also has historical importance for gay rights. In the 1970’s, a
minor disturbance occurred when two boyfriends took to dancing together.
Disneyland security asked them to break it up, but after later reviewing the
issue, Disney made it official policy to allow same-sex dancing. Disneyland was
one of the first companies to establish an official policy on this issue, and
later Disney would become one of the first companies to provide medical benefits
to same-sex couples, amongst other things.

- A night of sex up in the treehouse? My friend and I spent a day at Disneyland
deciding where the boys should have sex at the end of the chapter. We talked
about most of the more familiar places. In the end, having sex outside seemed
the most romantic. Funny story – we were in line for Indiana Jones, and we were
trying to have a “coded” message about positions and other possibilities in
various locations. Apparently, not coded enough – in front of us was a dad with
his sixteen and ten year old sons. The sixteen year old got a HUGE erection
listening to us...too bad for him, he was wearing basketball shorts with
(apparently) no underwear. He kept having to hide behind his poor brother, ha
ha. At any rate, we decided that although the treehouse is a lesser known
attraction, it provided an awesome romantic view that would allow you to have a
very memorable time.